White flag. Bring the troops Home. NOW! Ive had enough.

What a load of TOSH the British media really is. So quick to condemn the troops that they cant even put a story THEY ran about the riots which resulted in a bunch of Iraqi teenagers getting a bit of thrashing, into any kind of proper context.

It took me hours on the web and some anti war website to uncover an article on the protests that sparked this furore. The protests are described thus by the Telegraph today:

“The (teenage) pair claim to have been part of a protest about the lack of jobs in al-Amarah and said they would seek compensation from the British Army.According to Mr Shaker a crowd of more than 200 started throwing stones at British troops, who fired rubber bullets to disperse them...

"Then a group of British soldiers rushed out from their base and arrested nine of us, dragging us for about 30 metres to the governor's office," he said.

Right. Now check out the conveniently forgotten coverage in the same paper of the same riots in 2004 c/o of some weird link.

Same protests reported in same paper

Did the NotW run THESE images of the British soldiers at the same riots on the same day of the arrests alongside their 'BRUTAL!' headline since there are photos available? Or is this not deemed quite so BRUTAL!

These are teenagers after all. Only in uniform.

So if youd like to take a look at what the soldiers were really subjected to that day then take a good long look at these images of the same protest – note some ‘defenceless’ Iraqi teenagers feature prominently, hanging around throwing petrol bombs and grenades.

Soak in the latest load of shite about the Iraqi Basra council shunning the British military. And enjoy how quickly the government and newspapers in this country turn their backs on our men stuck out there in that shithole they call Iraq.

In short: fourteen British soldiers were injured, three of them seriously, in Basra when hundreds of Iraqis threw stones and petrol bombs during protests about job shortages. One soldier was seen with his head and shoulders covered in flames. Another had been injured earlier in the protests. There were reports that the troops, who were in tanks and sheltered behind shields, had fired tear gas in a bid to break up the crowd of about 500.

Thirteen of the soldiers were taken to a British military hospital at Shibah and were reported to be in serious condition. The other soldier suffered only minor injuries and was returned to duty. In response to the attack British personnel fired a number of plastic-type munitions called baton rounds in self-defense. No live rounds or tear gas were used at any time. A bunch of soldiers acting as, more than likely (im guessing here) a snatch squad rounded up some of the charming defenceless teenagers and gave them what amounts to a kicking. And not even within an inch of their lives. After witsnessing their mates ablaze i think this is remarkably restrained. They are at war after all.

OR - they could have handed them over to the local Iraqi police force known for tactics such as using electric screwdrivers on detainees.

OR - they could have simply shot them, after all they are AT WAR.

The fact that our newspapers cant even cast their minds back and look over their own reporting to place this incident in any kind of context shows you exactly what level they will stoop to in their anti war apologizing – at the same time taking an easy swipe at young men whose lives are at risk as the Iraqi population disown them.

So. Can the poor soldiers suffering burns and disfiguration from the same protests sue the established Iraqi government now?